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Posted

Preseason is going to be upon us before we know it, and I haven't followed too many transactions of other teams around the league, but as for our own part, more changes have been made and I like to think year 2 of the Mike O'Shea era will see even bigger better things.

 

So with Hall now callin the shots on the other side of the ball, I'm hoping to see a much improved run defense over last year's, and a bigger stronger D-line.

 

Offense, I think barring any injuries, we'll have our run game up and cooking this time and be able to make the work a lot lighter on Willy, even more so because I expect to see a better O-line in front.

 

That being said, O'Shea and the players have to know the expectations are high, and better than 7-11 must be shown out there on that field, playoffs or bust is what it is.  I cut the team some slack for that record because O'Shea had to make some tough decisions last year and after coming out of a huge mess left by the Joe Mack people, a lot had to be done to fix it.  This year though, it's year 2 and everyone, including QB Drew Willy who struggled with play late last year, have to get back in the mojo.

 

Talent-wise, I think this current team has Grey Cup caliber players on it, and finishing in the ballpark of 9-12 wins should be more than feasible.  We also do gotta let the season play out and not make too many knee-jerk reactions when things go wrong, but if things go backward the whole way, then heads may just have to roll again.

Posted

We've lost some good players.  We've picked up some good players.  We've upgraded our DC so we should hopefully be better We kept our OC which means more of the same from the offense.  We did well in FA.  Love getting Byrant and Picard, but we're expecting Hurl to be our new MLB, which doesn't impress me much.

 

I don't have any expectations yet though becuase we still have the draft and Import signings and TC to go through before we have much of an idea of how we'll look this year.  Best anyone can do is a wild eyed guess at this time of year.  I'll go with 9-9 based on the moves we've made so far.

Posted

Kuale is gone, Etch is gone, OL upgraded... thats good.  

 

??? - Hurl starting at MLB, Willy's consistency, Bellefuile's mid-season playcalling, Nic Moore's impact

 

A lot depends on Lulay, Cornish and Durant too

 

9-9 would be nice

Posted

We are not expecting Hurl to be the middle linebacker...not sure why people are so fixated on that

O'Shea said they expected Hurl to be ready to be the starting MLB.  Not sure why you don't think they are expecting Hurl to be the MLB.

Posted

We are not expecting Hurl to be the middle linebacker...not sure why people are so fixated on that

It's not set in stone yet, but all indications are that Hurl will be our MLB this season. Huge upgrade over Kuale. I've watched tape on Hurl from last season and he's very solid.
Posted

Great overall improvement- if we get any kind of decent QBing, we ought to be at least 10 and 8. And that's even before we reap the fruits of the 2015 draft. Calgary still looks to be the class of the league, but after that, its all a crapshoot, and somehow I think Durant is not going to be anywhere as effective as he has been before his injury. Ricky Ray will make his team an instant contender, and probably every one in the East will chasing Toronto.

Wally Buono is still a wily old fox, so lets not forget his ability to pull rabbits out of hats.

Posted

Great overall improvement- if we get any kind of decent QBing, we ought to be at least 10 and 8. And that's even before we reap the fruits of the 2015 draft. Calgary still looks to be the class of the league, but after that, its all a crapshoot, and somehow I think Durant is not going to be anywhere as effective as he has been before his injury. Ricky Ray will make his team an instant contender, and probably every one in the East will chasing Toronto.

Wally Buono is still a wily old fox, so lets not forget his ability to pull rabbits out of hats.

Don't count on reaping many fruits from the 2015 draft this season. Usually takes these guys at least a year to start making an impact.
Posted

Great overall improvement- if we get any kind of decent QBing, we ought to be at least 10 and 8. And that's even before we reap the fruits of the 2015 draft. Calgary still looks to be the class of the league, but after that, its all a crapshoot, and somehow I think Durant is not going to be anywhere as effective as he has been before his injury. Ricky Ray will make his team an instant contender, and probably every one in the East will chasing Toronto.

Wally Buono is still a wily old fox, so lets not forget his ability to pull rabbits out of hats.

 

Normally I'd agree on that last part, but Buono seems to be sure that he can stash his marbles all on Lulay, which given how much time he's missed over the last 2 seasons, I don't think is a good idea.  I personally think the guy may even be one big hit away from permanent retirement, and with Kevin Glenn gone, their backup QBs are way down in quality.  So if anyone's in trouble in our division, it's them I'd say.  Saskatchewan ... well I think a lot will predicate on how effective their run game and defense are.  They lost both Hall and Cortez at their respective coordinator roles, I know Chapdelaine has his resume, but it still remains to be seen whether his gameplans fit the Riders' players strengths.  The way I see it, Edmonton and Calgary are still the big guns we gotta compete with, but I think we got the shot to finish at least 3rd in the West.

 

As far as who gets the East, that's a tough call.  Yeah I know Ricky Ray is still Ricky Ray, but if I'm an Argo fan, I'd be highly concerned about Tim Burke and the way that defense has been going, not looking good IMO, I think he was a pretty damn good DC back with us in 2011, but since that time his D's really seem to be going downhill.  I'd put Montreal up as number 1, because yeah, they had their problems early on last year, but they found their QB, got a real OC after the Dinwiddie interim stint, and their defense actually is very good.  If they continue to improve, nobody's gonna be missing Calvillo too much over there.

Posted

 

Just finish ahead of the Riders.

So you'd be happy with a 4-5 win season?

 

 

Unless they get completely decimated by injuries in every position, 4-14 seems a bit far fetched for a Riders finish, realisticly speaking, though we all share the sentiment.  I think they could certainly finish worse than 10-8 and if bad luck really hits them, maybe even as bad as 6-12, but I see em goin like 8-10 realisticly though.  Last year obviously the West obviously came out and was blowin the East out in pretty much every category early, I don't think that's going to happen this year given that the league is always susceptible to landscape shifts in the polar opposite as well, plus with Montreal in better shape, I think it's gonna be a lot more even across the board.

 

I see the Standings being:

 

West                                                 East

Calgary             12-6                        Montreal 11-7

Edmonton         11-7                         Toronto     9-9

Us                     10-8                         Hamilton   8-10

Saskatchewan   8-10                       Ottawa       5-13

BC                     6-12

 

 

Something like that.

Posted

I think Hamilton is the team to beat in the east, I think Montreal comes down to reality, I think Crompton isn't as good as some people seem to think.

 

I see Hamilton finishing first in the east and easily. 

 

Crompton won't have Deron Carter there to bail him out anymore, they are an older team too, stamps ain't the same as he used to be, that receiving group isn't that impressive really.. I'm not sure Montreal even gets in as i think Ottawa will be improved, but by how much? I'm not sure. 

Posted

 

Great overall improvement- if we get any kind of decent QBing, we ought to be at least 10 and 8. And that's even before we reap the fruits of the 2015 draft. Calgary still looks to be the class of the league, but after that, its all a crapshoot, and somehow I think Durant is not going to be anywhere as effective as he has been before his injury. Ricky Ray will make his team an instant contender, and probably every one in the East will chasing Toronto.

Wally Buono is still a wily old fox, so lets not forget his ability to pull rabbits out of hats.

Don't count on reaping many fruits from the 2015 draft this season. Usually takes these guys at least a year to start making an impact.

 

 

One starter/guy who plays a lot of snaps on O or D and two more guys who fill out the bottom third of the roster is quite possible, barring the NFL taking that big time guy.  For instance, if we draft a guy like Waud he's instantly the best Canadian on our DL and possibly on our defense as a whole.  He'd be playing quite a bit.

 

Overall I think the Bombers could go either way.  Younger guys will be little more experienced, and they'll be more experienced together as a team including the coaching staff.  We'll find out which half of the 2014 season was the fluke.

Posted

Great overall improvement- if we get any kind of decent QBing, we ought to be at least 10 and 8. And that's even before we reap the fruits of the 2015 draft. Calgary still looks to be the class of the league, but after that, its all a crapshoot, and somehow I think Durant is not going to be anywhere as effective as he has been before his injury. Ricky Ray will make his team an instant contender, and probably every one in the East will chasing Toronto.

Wally Buono is still a wily old fox, so lets not forget his ability to pull rabbits out of hats.

Don't count on reaping many fruits from the 2015 draft this season. Usually takes these guys at least a year to start making an impact.

One starter/guy who plays a lot of snaps on O or D and two more guys who fill out the bottom third of the roster is quite possible, barring the NFL taking that big time guy. For instance, if we draft a guy like Waud he's instantly the best Canadian on our DL and possibly on our defense as a whole. He'd be playing quite a bit.

Overall I think the Bombers could go either way. Younger guys will be little more experienced, and they'll be more experienced together as a team including the coaching staff. We'll find out which half of the 2014 season was the fluke.

First of all I said "usually" and that's accurate. It's very rare for a newly drafted rookie to start and make an impact in their first season.
Posted

Depends on your definition of rare. There are a couple every year who start and even more who have a significant impact on special teams.

Yes I understand it does happen, but not often. Do you have a list of newly drafted rookies who started and made an impact in their first season? I'm pretty sure it's a small list. I'm not talking special teams.

My point is we shouldn't bank on any newly drafted rookies starting this year. If it happens, great. But it's not likely.

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